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Pernicum Campaign
During the Night of a thousand Rebellions at the end of M41, the Imperial Command received an emergency call for help from the Pernicum System at the western border of the Segmentum Pacificus. The Thorn Heralds were dispatched quickly to deal with the situation, and establish a bridge-head afterwards but it turned out to be an elaborate trap. Background Years before, the traitor warband of the Scourge Knights had infiltrated the system in search for an ancient artifact, rumored to be blessed by Tzeentch himself. One of the Knights' more prominent Sorcerer-Lords, named Theldrasir, reported he had discovered a lead on an artefact of Tzeentch, said to be blessed by the God himself. Theldrasir claimed that the artefact was a single gauntlet that had the power to control the magnetic field generated by most humanoids - The gauntlet would empower the electrical field generated by neural currents (for example) and then discharge the power through both the victim and anyone in a five metre radius. The result discharging would effectively 'cook' those affected. Sa'vael was intrigued by this, and approved Theldrasir's request to take a mission to retrieve the Gauntlet from the Pernicum sector. Theldrasir took a significant force -including the *Melody of Fate*- to the system. Prior to the expedition, Theldrasir adhered to the Knights' usual tactics, and sent several mortal servants ahead of the main fleet several years prior to slowly spread the influence of Tzeentch over the planet. After several years of infiltration, the sector's Government were soon under the full control of the Knights' cult - This resulted directly in the Scourge Knight loyalists gaining full control over the system's military forces (notably the PDFs of each planet) and Naval vessels, effectively commandeering a small army with little need for force. The Cult Leader -and now unofficial Governor of the sector-, Lysander Verethar, contacted Theldrasir and informed him that the planetary defences and navy were under their control, and it was safe for the Chaos Lord to bring his forces to the sector. Tough not confirmed by valuable sources, it is very likely that the Scourge Knights eventually succeeded in their venture and discovered Tzeentch's artifact. Fragments of the warbands recovered logs suggest that it needed some sort of sacrifice to unfold it's potential. The Scourge Knights then developed the plan to lure an Astartes chapter into the system under false pretense and then sacrifice their gene-seed to the artifact and ultimately Tzeentch. The warp ambush "Brothers, this is not our end! Brothers, this is not our death! Brothers, this will be the beginning of the end of our enemies! As long as we live, as long as we breathe, as long as our hands are able to grip a weapon, we will fight for the emperor!" '' ''-''Transmission recorded from Chapter Master Godehard Melanthios before the ''Hand of Deliverance was boarded by traitor forces Being a fleet-based chapter designed for quick responses set off into the warp, expecting to have to deal with a minor chaos cult taking advantage of the wave of rebellions scourging the sector. Combat did not wait for them, as the Chapter's fleet, along with the flagship Hand of Deliverance was attacked by demons and other warp-spawn almost immediately. Although not entirely surprised, the Heralds suffered their first losses in the Warp due to the sheer fierceness of the attack and the number of beasts. The Marines fought the unholy hordes off and arrived in the Pernicum system, only to be greeted by the combined traitor fleet. The Scourge Knights' fleet had merged with the defense fleet of the system, outnumbering the Astartes' vessels 3:1. In expectance of a peaceful welcome, the Space Marines fleet neglected to ready their defenses in time. In the following crossfire, the Thorn Heralds lost 1/3rd's of their fleet, almost all of the human personnel and over 400 battle brothers, decimating the Chapter to half of it's original strength before any defense could be put up. Knowing that they could not win the battle, Chapter Master Remigio Cabral ordered the fleet to scatter and escape while he and the 1st company launched a suicide attack with the Hand of Deliverance against the traitors' flagship, the'' Melody of Fate. Buying enough time for the rest of the fleet to escape, the 1st company soon found themselves faced with merciless boarding commandos. It is not known how many traitors they were able to take down before they were overwhelmed in the end. Unbeknownst to the rest of the Order, Cabral was not killed, but captured and imprisoned, along with what was left of the 1st company. Pernicum Alpha The vast agri-world of Pernicum Alpha hadn't attracted much attention from the Scourge Knights until that point of time, so the defenses in the surrounding space were comparably weak. The survivors of the 3rd, 5th and 8th company managed to conduct an emergency landing on the northern hemisphere. Pursued by landing commandos of the traitor forces, the less than 150 Marines managed to escape into the vast fields and forests of the world. Following this initial disaster, the Marines gathered all their supplies, weapons and fit for action brothers and elected Brother-Captain César Machado as commander. Their declared objective was to gather as much information about their situation as possible before they'd be able to strike back. Due to the weak presence of the traitors on the planet until then, however, there was little progress. Their presence was welcomed by the native farmers and workers, though, who had suffered occasional raids and attacks from the traitors. Captain Almo made direct use of that, laying ambushes for the raid squads aiming to supply to their troops, capturing the traitors and interrogating them thoroughly. Through these means, they were able to ascertain the Scourge Knights' goals and learn about the mysterious artifact they planned to make use of. Pernicum III After breaking through the blockade, parts of the 2nd, 7th and 9th company managed to regroup and use the asteroid belt of Pernicum III for cover before the condition of their ships forced them to land. Having lost the majority of their ammunition, the Marines were forced to engage the beasts and traitor groups roaming the feral jungle planet in close combat. Unknown to them, Pernicum III was the main base of the traitors' research and groups of Chaos Space Marines and corrupt imperial forces roamed the planet's surface in search for either more information or just a test of strength. Soon enough, patrols would not return to their base and others reported of attacks on their camps commenced by wild beasts and Space Marines. Being dependent on the element of surprise, the Thorn Heralds on the planet developed the tactic of gathering and releasing large groups of wild beasts on the traitor camps and facilities, using the distraction and confusion to launch fast and bloody attacks that had the simple goal to kill as much of their enemies as possible. Secondary objectives were of course to secure supplies and gather intel, but the declared goal was avenge every fallen brother ten- if not hundredfold. Pernicum Secundus The last group of Marines escaping total annihilation were the 4th, 6th and 10th company. Using Cabral's sacrifice to the fullest, they managed to break straight through the enemy blockade and quickly landed on Pernicum Secundus. The industrial world was the former seat of the system's government, but was now uninhabited for large areas as the Scourge Knights abducted large parts of the population for the sake of experiments or as sacrifice to the Dark Gods. Taking the now empty streets and factories as a sorry excuse for a defense, the remains of the companies gathered under Chief Librarian Ademir Rios. Using their lower numbers to an advantage, they feigned retreat after retreat, letting the enemy willingly invade their perimeter, only to launch devastating counter attacks or have entire buildings explode over the traitors' heads. Their campaign was perhaps the most desperately fought, constantly in the need of being one step ahead of their enemy while trying to maintain their numbers. Rios' attempts to get in contact with the rest of the Chapter were successful in the way that the leaders could exchange information, but neither of them had much hope of fulfilling their original goal. The war for survival ''"We cannot win, brothers. Our enemy grows stronger while our forces weaken with each day. There is no hope of success, let me be honest with you. Alas, we are Space Marines! We do not need hope! All we need is our faith in the Emperor in our hands and an enemy to fight! We might die here, but not before we have taken thousands of the traitors with us!" '' ''-''Recorded Speech of Ademir Rios before the contact between the battle groups was ceased. The three remaining leaders of the Thorn Heralds, Brother-Captain César Machado, Chief Librarian Ademir RIos and Assault Captain Diogo Silva, who had taken command of the forces on Pernicum III agreed the chances for reuniting were slim. Their enemy outnumbered them at least 3 to 1, had the advantage of supplies and information and imperial reinforcements were unlikely to arrive anytime soon, given they would receive an emergency signal in the first place. The original goal of the campaign was obsolete, so the three agreed on a new one: Survival. Every battle group was to search for a way to call for reinforcements while simultaneously trying to put as much damage to their enemy and preserving their numbers as much as possible. After this was agreed upon, the contact between the groups was ceased in order to prevent their enemy from gathering intel on them. In the 10th year of the campaign, Captain Silva was able to infiltrate and take over a communication facility located on a moon of Pernicum III. His strike force was able to hold it long enough to send an emergency signal to the imperium, but they were forced to retreat before he could confirm that it was received. Unbeknownst to them, it had been received and imperial command sent out strike force consisting of 10 regiments of the Imperial Army as well as 4 companies of the Adeptus Sororitas Order *Fiery Sword of Conquest*. Their arrival would be delayed by fluctuations in the Warp, drifting them off course. It took another 15 years for the strike force to arrive, this time prepared. The traitor forces sought to repeat their tactic that worked so efficiently against the Thorn Heralds, but the time had thinned their personnel and equipment, so they found themselves outnumbered this time. While the *Melody of Fate* was able to flee, most of the traitor fleet was destroyed. Afterwards, the strike force landed on one planet after the other, seeking to reunite the scattered Thorn Heralds or at least recovering their remains. Pernicum Alpha The agri-world had suffered heavily from the retaliations of the Scourge Knights, large parts of the population slaughtered and much of the fields burned and depraved by the chaos energies oozing from dark shrines and temples. As the Sororitas cleansed those shrines with holy fire, their attack was suddenly aided by a group of Space Marines in worn out armor, carrying non-standard weapons and supported by irregularly trained natives. 43 Marines of the initial 140 had survived, but their fighting spirit was unbroken, held up by Captain Machado. Almost of all the bodies of their fallen brothers had been secured by them and could be retrieved by the imperial force. Pernicum Secundus Under Ademir Rios' leadership, the initial 180 Marines had lost over 100 Marines while binding the enemy's forces, disrupting their supply chain and leading ambushes on the traitor legions leaders. As soon as the strike forces attacked, Rios commenced a long planned attack on the governors palace. The Marines under his command fought their way through the disarrayed defense forces and were able to interrupt the governor's summoning ritual by blowing up an entire section of the building. As the most of the command chain of the traitor forces were killed during the explosion, the strike force didn't hit much resistance as they landed on the planet, welcomed by the surviving Thorn Heralds. It was recorded that almost all of them showed little to no reaction until they met their supposedly dead brothers, after which they broke out in praise of the Emperor. Pernicum III As the imperial fleet drove away the orbital defense force of Pernicum III, they were approached by several salvaged vessels, in bad shape and barely able to fly. It turned out to be the surviving Thorn Heralds of the planet, their numbers reduced from 60 to around 28, with 17 dead brothers being retrieved. With the intel they had gathered, the ships were able to ascertain several strongholds on the planet, including training and research facilities which were consequently obliterated with an orbital bombing before the imperial forces commenced a massive landing operation. Supported by the Sororitas, the Imperial Guard Regiments and the Brothers retrieved from Pernicum Alpha and Pernicum Secundus, the Thorn Heralds were able to secure several dangerous artifacts and take large amounts of prisoners to be interrogated by the Ordo Malleus later on. Afterwards, both Pernicum Secundus and Pernicum III were destroyed by Exterminati with Modalis Atmosphere Missiles. Cutting the snake's head However, the death or presence of the enemy leader could not be confirmed, and the hunt for the mind behind the infiltration began. With their bases raided, respectively destroyed, the Scourge Knight's retreated to Pernicum IV, the last and farthest out planet of the system. A barren world with no value whatsoever, the traitors had erected a secret base and were in the middle of organizing their exfiltration when the Imperial forces attacked. While the Imperial Navy bound the traitor's ships, the remaining Heralds descended onto the planet's surface along with the Sororitas. Slaying every single traitor, renegade, sorcerer and cultist, they would eventually discover the remains of their 1st company. Enraged by the signs of torture and defilement of their brothers as well as learning of their Chapter Master being imprisoned on the *Melody of Fate*, the Marines relaunched into space with new-found hatred. As the Imperial navy had gained the upper hand by sheer numbers, the Heralds launched a boarding commando on the enemy's flagship. Carving a way through traitor forces, César Machado and Theldrasir battled on the bridge of the ship while Diogo Silva freed Chapter Master Cabral from the prison tract of the ship. As it seemed that the Chaos sorcerer's end was sealed, a massive warp-storm erupted amidst the battle in space. As both sides lost ships, Captain Machado ordered the retreat of the remaining Thorn Heralds, staying true to the last order of his Chapter Master. Dragging their fallen comrades with them, the boarding commando made their escape before the *Melody of Fate* escaped into the warp. Though stained with blood, the victory had ultimately been secured. Consequences and Aftermath ''"Brothers, not only did we survive, we fought back. The traitors thought it was enough to destroy our ships. The traitors thought it was enough to kill our brothers. They thought it was enough to mock us and turn their faces away from the light of the Emperor. Brothers, today we stand alive while their souls must face eternal punishment. And this shall be the lesson to those who oppose the Emperor or his angels of death. We will not rest in our battle, we will not rest in our pursuit, we will not rest as long as the heretic traitors dare to threaten the empire of men. For we are the Thorn Heralds, the everlasting blade in the flesh of our enemies!" '' ''-Newly elected Chapter Master César Machado's speech to the survivors of the Pernicum Campaign After the success of the Pernicum campaign, the surviving 131 Marines returned to Terra where they were honored for their sacrifice and received a new fleet as well as the time to rebuild their Chapter to battle size. Pernicum held no potential for recruitment anymore, but the Chapter established close ties with the people of Pernicum Alpha that last to this day. César Machado was appointed Chapter Mastor after Cabral eventually succumbed to the injuries caused by torture and imprisonment, with Diogo Silva receiving command over the 1st company, which was built from the surviving veterans, minus those that aided rebuilding the other companies. Additionally, 3 Gand Companies were formed, each lead by veterans form one of the planets of the Pernicum system. Each Grand company consists of 3 regular companies of regular size. No artifact or any remains of it could be secured, indicating that it was either utterly destroyed or secured by the Scourge Knights. Having experienced the dangers of unverified information, the Thorn Heralds swore an oath to find both the artifact and the traitors and annihilate both of them. Category:Battles